The St. Louis Art Museum presents an exhibition of contemporary Native American art

From June 23 through September 4, 2023, the Saint Louis Art Museum presents “Action/Abstraction Redefined: Modern Native Art, 1940s–1970s,” the museum’s first exhibition to focus on modern and contemporary Native American art.

Source: Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) · Image: Henry “Hank” Delano Gobin, (Kwi Tlum Kadim), Tulalip/Snohomish, 1941–2013; “Northwest Design”, 1966; casein, tissue paper, ink pen on paper; 18 x 22 inches; Institute of American Indian Arts / Museum of Contemporary Native Arts Collection (SNH-6), Honors Collection; © Henry “Hank” Delano Gobin

The exhibition is organized by Santa Fe’s Museum of Contemporary Native Arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), a Native-American led institution with a deep, focused collection. SLAM curators will expand the number of works in the exhibition from 52 to approximately 90—supplementing with works from the museum’s collection—to provide more context for the remarkable story of abstraction during the first decade of the IAIA.

Like Abstract Expressionist artists, who broke with representational conventions and prioritized experimentation, artists at IAIA redefined the concept of abstraction following World War II. Combining ancestral aesthetics and art influences coming out of New York, artists in the exhibition pushed the boundaries of Native art media, subjects, and styles to develop the field of contemporary Native Art.

In 2008, the Saint Louis Art Museum presented “Action/Abstraction: Pollock, de Kooning, and American Art, 1940–1976,” an exhibition organized by the Jewish Museum in New York in collaboration with SLAM and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, N.Y. This new exhibition builds on and responds to that earlier exhibition, with a focus specifically on Native American artists and their influences.

“‘Action/Abstraction Redefined’ highlights the innovative paintings, sculptures, textiles, and works on paper that challenged stereotypical expectations of Native American art during the postwar era,” said Min Jung Kim, the Barbara B. Taylor Director of the Saint Louis Art Museum. “Presenting this exhibition is an important opportunity for the Saint Louis Art Museum to continue our work to expand the narratives of American art while engaging our visitors with works of exceptional quality.”

In the 1940s, Indigenous artists began to create work that overtly challenged received definitions of Native American art. These artists studied global art from across human history, drew freely from past Native American art and responded to current trends in mainstream modern art. Innovative artists—including Fritz Scholder, Lloyd Kiva New and Linda Lomahaftewa—explored new modes of artistic expression in studios across the nation and especially at the IAIA, which was founded in 1962.

The IAIA nurtured innovation and encouraged experimentation as artists combined styles and methods of the New York school with abstract forms based in historical Native art. “Action/Abstraction Redefined” introduces audiences to this exciting body of artwork and deepens scholarship by highlighting many women artists whose work remains largely unknown even among specialists.